Sex, Gender, Becoming - PULP

Domestic violence in south africa 147
4.4 The Victim Offender Conferencing process at the
Restorative Justice Centre
A central tenet for victim offender conferencing is to create the space
for the victim to be able to voice concerns and issues within a secure
context. The goal of these meetings is to provide a safe place for
genuine dialogue between the involved parties that can address
emotional and informational needs, as well as the development of a
plan for the offender ‘to make things right’ as much as possible. 23
Victims and offenders subject themselves to the process in terms of a
written agreement. The written agreement is intended to provide
reassurance to the victims about the expectations with regard to the
offender. The Restorative Justice Centre must also for each VOC
process submit a report to the prosecutor who referred the case –
again this is intended to make sure that the process is taken seriously.
The facilitator’s role (that is, that of the social worker) in the process
involves seeing the partners individually, then jointly as a couple; and
even together with family and significant others. The latter may
involve a priest, best friend, neighbour or a police officer. The
‘community’s’ role is to create the conditions most favourable to the
restoration of both offender and victim. 24 It aids the healing process
by providing support and accountability to both parties. In some cases
the involvement of the community may help to break the conspiracy
of silence surrounding the problem. There are writers who are
circumspect about the utility of using mediation where violent abuse
has occurred. 25 The general thrust of these concerns is that given the
complex dynamics that sustain an abusive relationship, a VOC may be
totally insufficient to effect change. Worse than this, it may draw
others into these dynamics, setting the stage for perpetuating the
abusive dynamics. In contrast, the involvement of family can set the
tone and expectations for all parties concerned. A further advantage
is that some of the secrecy which is associated with domestic violence
is removed because the family is involved in the process of dealing
with the problem. 26
4.5 Experiences of victims in the VOC process
Selective information as it pertains to the purpose of this research will
be shared from the respondents. There are mixed responses from the
23
WR Nugent et al ‘Participation in victim-offender mediation and re-offense:
Successful replications?’ (1999) Journal of Research on Social Work Practice 1.
24 J Consedine Restorative justice. Healing the effects of crime (1999) 184.
25
Saskatoon community mediation services Report on the consultation on
restorative justice and violence against women, Saskatoon (2001).
26 A Dissel & K Ngubeni ‘Giving women their voice: domestic violence and
restorative justice in South Africa’ unpublished paper presented at the XIth
International Symposium on Victimology, Stellenbosch, 13-18 July 2003, 7.